How to Have Greener Grass NOW - Part A

When you make meaningful connections with God's people, two things will happen, it will produce joy and it will produce encouraged personnel to produce joint notice. The process, but I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at last you care for me again. So part of the joy that Paul is getting his in this reconnection made with the Fellowship of the surgical. Many people experience the most contentment through their family and friends and the least contentment when it comes to money, it shows just how important our relationships really are today on connect with Skip Heitzigs, Skip explains how vital it is for you to meet with other believers regularly to tell you about an opportunity you have to see the Bible come alive before your eyes are invited to join in a torrent Israel in 2022. Visiting the places where the events of the Bible unfolded is a unique and significant experience will be encouraged and your faith is God's word comes to life or you may never have before. Get all the info, inspiration, cruises.com/C ABQ now speaking of Israel in the Middle East.

Here's a resource that introduces you to the key players in that region shares whether decisions are significant for you.

New York Times best-selling author Joel Rosenberg is now based in Jerusalem and he's releasing the new nonfiction book enemies and allies I traveled with Joel to middle cities to meet with Kings Crown Prince. We sat together on the east lawn of the White House for the signing of the historic Abraham accordance and I previewed his new book enemies and allies.

I can tell you it contains never before published quotes from behind closed door meetings with some of the most powerful and mysterious leaders in the Middle East. You will want to read enemies and allies by Joel Rosenberg includes insights and analysis. The authors conversation. She howls me the most cost leaders enemies and allies by Joel Rosenberg insights and analysis from the authors conversations with some of the most controversial leaders in the world will send you a hardcover copy of enemies and allies. Thanks for your gift of $35 or more to give. Visit connectwithskip.com or call 800-922-1888 as we get into the teaching you have heard or seen story of all. No doubt you seen the movie you even read Charles Dickens book by that name. When Charles Dickens wrote the book Oliver twist, he was riding against social injustice of child labor in 1830s England, but the story is about a little boy with no name somebody name some Oliver twist in the orphanage. They did know his mother's name. They did know his name. Somebody comes up with the name for the first nine years of his life.

This young boy spends time in this orphanage before he is put into an adult.

Workouts desperate conditions he's always lonely and tired and cold and hungry and one particular meal where all the kids are at the tables eating this glop that's in their bowl barely enough to subsist on that young boy makes the major gaffe he grabs the ball gets out of the seat walks up to the overfed overseer and says please say I want some model number that same so it was as if he had committed a capital crime because he asked for more.

Now what you get out of poverty and and legitimately has sort of become the American anthem please. We want some Moloch does not take long in this life before people even as children learn the fine art of being discontent.

They want more than want more than what they have.

I mean this is gotta be more II need to have more than other people have more. Why can I have more so the grass is always greener in the next lawn.

The traffic is always faster in the next lane. People are always happier in the next state.

Life is always better with the next person. You may have heard about the two teardrops that were floating down the river of life, and they had a conversation one teardrops said to the other. She said I am a tear of a woman who loved the man and lost him in the second teardrops that I'm a tear of the woman that got them. So either way bad news. I found an article this week. It was a call discontent in prosperous America is all about how Americans have more than ever before, but are more discontented than ever before. We live it the best time in history we have the worst attitude in history. So in this article the authors that the income of the average American is risen drastically in real terms in the last 40 years, the average American home is 1000 ft.² bigger than it used to be 40 years ago. Despite the fact that our families are smaller.

The average American diet is 500 more calories per person that I was 40 years ago. I think that shows the average American turned a wheel multiple times to call someone 40 years ago.

Now we have smart phones to give us access to virtually any medical information or person in the world and it fits into the palm of her hand.

Life expectancy has gone up over a decade in the last 40 years. Emissions have plummeted in the last 40 years went on and on and on to describe how good we now have. But how poorly we respond to it. Then he asked this question.

Does the average American realized that they live more materially comfortable then bazaars of Russia did 100 years ago. So as we stand at the end of one year on the verge of another year. What is our attitude is our attitude like please God, I want some Moloch. What is it that we feel we need more of so much that I need a better car. Others would say I need a bigger home. Others might say I want a better husband. Others might say a couple zeros it into my paycheck would help with that as sort of a background we go now to our text in Philippians chapter 4 beginning in verse 10, I want to set the stage a little bit just for the understanding of the text, what we discover as we look at the life of Paul is that he planted a church in Philippi of Macedonia because he had received a vision from a man of Macedonia saying come over to Macedonia and help us. He was in trouble as the coast, the Mediterranean AGM coast. He went from there went to Philippi planted a church was difficult eventually. It was prosperous. It grew was vibrant. He had a beautiful relationship with this group of people and in fact they at one time supported Paul in his ministry. They financially supported him.

They gave him things that he needed while he was in Macedonia and after that, but several years passed since that time until this time that he writes the letter but now something happened and Paul addresses what is happened. A guy from Philippi named it past the dieters traveled about 800 miles from Philippi to where Paul was imprisoned in Rome and gave him a financial gift probably care package of some sort that would help him baby clothes, etc. and he is thanking them for that and mentioning that so that it is a background look at verse 10 Philippians chapter 4 verse 10, read all the way down verse 18 for the sake of context. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last. Your care for me has flourished again, though, you surely didn't care, but you lacked opportunity.

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content.

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well that you have shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel. When I departed from Macedonia.

No church shared with me concerning giving and receiving. But you only for even in Thessalonica you set a once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and abound I am full, having received from a paradigm, just the thing sent from you a sweet smelling aroma and acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God. What a look at just verse 10 to 13 this morning and I like to point out three principles that are going to help your satisfaction level rise. If you could if we could get these principles into our new year we will have more joy in the next 12 months than we have had in the past 12 months. Three easy principles be contented or be connected be content and be confident be connected to God's people, be content with God's provision be confident in God's power those of the three principles that emerge from these verses that we look at speaking with the first verse 10 be connected to God's people. Paul writes, but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now it last your care for me has flourished again, though, you surely didn't care, but you lacked opportunity.

Okay so I decade has passed 10 years have passed from the time Paul went to Philippi to plant the church and got thrown in the Philippian jail got beat up you know the story.

Remember that from the book of acts 10 years of past. At first they were able to support Paul. Even when he left Philippi went over the Thessalonica. They sent aid as he said a couple of different time supported into that. But something happened. We don't even know what it was that happened. They lost touch somehow. So, they lack the opportunity to continue that support but now in this what Paul is addressing. Now they have reconnected and they were reconnected because a guy from Philippi named up Aphrodite as an ambassador of that church finds Paul in jail and says Paul here is something from the church at Philippi to tide you over.

We want to support you again. We want to help you out. Here's a care package here some financial help for you and they do it to help him.

There's an old Chinese proverb that says if you want happiness for an hour, take a nap if you want happiness for a day go fishing if you want happiness for a year go inherit a fortune. But if you want happiness for a lifetime. Go help someone so there joy and Paul's joy rises as he gets help from them.

When you connect with God's people, two things will happen when you make meaningful connections with God's people, two things will happen, it will produce joy and it will produce encouragement.

First of all it will produce joy.

Notice the pulses but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last.

Your care for me has flourished again. So part of the joy that Paul is getting his in this reconnection made with the Fellowship of the church at Philippi. I have a question. What group are you connected to consistently not what group do you come sporadically to observe and loosely be a part of what group do you consistently attach herself to who brings you joy by caring for you so it's two in the morning. Something is happened. Her life comes crashing down. Would you call his or some small group leader. You could call some group of people that could be easily connected to be around you.

Praying you through this time and I bring this up because the Bible frequently brings us up. It seems that in the modern church. There are many believers who are not be long hours they believe all the right things in the there is a relationship with God. It it's it's true it's authentic there believers would not belong as they miss the joy of consistent fellowship and is not entirely the fault of individuals.

Sometimes it is helped to be produced by the institution of the church itself because I've noticed over the years that many churches love to boast about their membership roll that doesn't really reflect who attends the church so they look the bows we have 400 members in our roster.

40 actually go there's a middle joke about three pastors got together all of them at the same problem. There were bats living in the church building in the attic of all three churches. So one pastor said not. I have bats I try to get rid of them all year long. I can't do it. Maybe I put noisemakers up there. I think there but the bats still live in the additive. The church that I passed the second best is that you know we have the same problem and I tried to fumigate. I tried everything we can. But those bats still live there. The third pastors that while gentlemen we used to have bats in our church attic. I fixed the problem visible.

Please pray tell, what's the answer, he said, well, I baptize them all made them church members and they haven't been back since. And unfortunately, we sort of create this spiritual drifter mentality by just saying. Just put your name on the roster and that's all that is required when you connect with God's people to produces joy. The second thing it will do when you connect with God's people. It produces encouragement to go on. I think that really is the thought of this whole section for Paul. He needed encouragement.

He saw this as an encouragement of validation, so to speak of his ministry.

I think that's behind the words when he says that last your care is flourished for me.

Again, though, you surely didn't care, but you lacked the opportunity those words lacked opportunities literally means a good season or a good time.

For whatever reason we don't know the reason for whatever reason they supported him at first and then it wasn't the right time wasn't the right season and now it is one of the things that I love about Paul is that he never tried to guilt people into giving you never tried to use high pressure techniques, saying if you don't give you my ministry you know God's gonna turn around and leave town and and you never usually never cajoled people and over the years I watched I've read letters from ministers who pour on all sorts of tactics to get people to feel guilty. I even saw one guy in television. This is years ago in Los Angeles and probably half of his broadcasts. He was talking about.

We need the budget we need your help and you got a gift today are working to go broke so one one broadcasts. He actually turned around Saddam to preach the rest of my message this way because the finances. I said we needed have not come in. By the way, that's just a cool logo right there joy.

I'm looking out for the first time. Anyway he preach this way the whole message because the money didn't come and I actually thought I was is beside but don't know where Paul says he goes your care has flourished for me again. That word flourished means revived or blossomed, or to sprout.

It was a word used of a barren tree changing from wintertime to springtime. The air is warmer. Sunshine is more copious. There's more moisture and that tree begins to change and revive flourished blossomed sprout, so Paul is encouraged by the recent giving to him and he sees this as fruit, validating his ministry. I am called the best.

This is in the will of God for me.

I'll never forget when I first moved from California to New Mexico. It was a scary time because I didn't know what to expect.

I just announced I'm moving east to plant a church. So as I move there was a church in Cyprus, California. They gave us a check for thousand dollars saying we just want you to know we believe God is calling you to be a church planter. I can describe now. Moshe Clement held $1000 check. Man I'm responsible before God, and it was such confirmation that were making the right move let's go for to be connected to God's people. Second, be content with God's provision. Verse 11 and 12. He continues, not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, even the state of New Mexico to be content. I know how to be abased, I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer neither. There's a lot of these two verses and this is a very famous arch man come to me last night saying all this is my favorite text in the Bible, but I want you to do sort of drill down with me noticed couple thing noticed that contentment that's really the subject of these two verses that contentment isn't related to necessity because Paul says not that I speak in regard to need or necessity. In other words, my needs may be met, but my needs may not be met and if my needs are not met.

I just want you to know I'm still going to be content that it's irrespective of having my needs met. It's a funny thing when we talk about our needs. It's funny what things we regard as being needful.

Have you discovered that I really need that TV, it's Anita. I couldn't survive without hundred years ago the average American could produce a list of 70 things that he or she needed today that number is well over 500 needs. The average person has.

I wonder if we don't know don't know how to tell the difference between what's in need and what's agreed and agreed is now become a need happens everywhere I pipe in Israel.

Now many times in the first time I went Israel. I noticed these people to live in tents.

Recall that once or all throughout the southern part of the land in Judeo and and Bedouins live in tents, animal hair, tents, black tents and the travel is a community of of 10 dwellers together. Still to this day in modern-day dip their flocks like goats and sheep in the move around depending on where they can find pastureland for their animals, so I always love to point the Bedouins out to people to go to Israel you connect to look out to the side of the road to people that lived like Abraham did, so that they come to see the tents in the distant for one time were traveling around to go around the corner. We see this intent, community, and out of a couple of tents. We notice a television aerial antenna going up.

I thought interesting.

This is now become a knee for the better when people a television set to work. Content in these verses, I learned whatever state I am to be content out tar case is the word out tar case means contain I've learned to be contained self-sufficient can be translated satisfied would be another translation or announce person can say I have another basket with the message from the series technical. Right now you Skip to tell you about how you can keep encouraging messages like this coming your way as you help connect others to God's truths God's Holy Spirit lives inside of us.

Why, to help us live out our faith in this world and our heart is to come alongside of you to do the same. That's why we work to make these Bible teachings available to friends like you and you can help connect even more people to God's word today through a generous gift. Here's how you can give now to impact others lives with God's truth.

Visit connectwithskip.com/donate to give your gift today that's connectwithskip.com/donate or call 800-922-1888 again that's 800-922-1888 coming up tomorrow Skip six years how you can experience true contentment through God's provision and confidence in his power. Contentment is a learned ability to learned ability for you then I was. I was blessed with the gift of contentment is not a gap it's a learned skill because look what he says, for I have learned verse 11 whatever state I am, based abound everywhere and in all things. I have learned both before and so encouraging. Still so Skip presentation of connection communications changing to ever-changing time